A breakdown of the greatest comebacks in NCAA tournament history, highlighting why March is madness.
The NCAA tournament is one of the most intriguing events in all of sports. It sets the stage and provides opportunities for small, lesser known programs to make a name for themselves. Of course, it also allows blue blood programs to run through the rest of the nation until the nets are cut.
The single-elimination nature of the tournament means every possession is important. There’s not a single second that can be taken off. Because anything can happen over the course of 40 minutes.
And while we always turn to the upsets (for good reason), crazy comebacks are also worth highlighting. There’s nothing like seeing a team on the brink of implosion rally around one another and take over a game.
Those are the moments we’re revisiting today.
Biggest NCAA Tournament Comeback of All Time
The largest March Madness comeback came in a 2012 First Four game between No. 14 BYU and No. 14 Iona.
Iona entered the game with a 25–7 record, winning the MAAC’s regular-season title. The Gaels averaged 83 points per game, which led the nation in 2011–12. Iona had three players average double-digit points and was led by Scott Machado, who would have a brief NBA stint.
BYU came in with a 25–8 record, finishing third in the West Coast Conference. The Cougars were trying to adjust to life post-Jimmer Fredette who won the Naismith Player of the Year award the season prior before being drafted by the Sacramento Kings. BYU had four players averaging 11+ points per game and was just outside the top 10 in points per game (77.9).
So people were expecting a high-scoring affair between the Gaels and Cougars.
Instead, BYU’s second-half defense stole the show.
Iona dominated the first 15 minutes of the game, scoring 49 points and taking a commanding 25-point lead. With the score at 49–24 and the Gaels hitting just about everything, it seemed like it was going to be an early night for the Cougars.
Instead, BYU clamped down defensively and began to feature two upperclassmen bigs (Noah Hartsock and Bradon Davies), to turn the game around.
The Cougars held Iona scoreless for the final four minutes of the first half and the Gaels never got it figured out.
The Gaels opened the second half slowly but came to a complete halt as BYU held them scoreless for more than nine minutes, cutting the lead to 62–61.
Machado completed a three-point play with about five minutes remaining, pushing Iona’s lead to 70–64 before Hartsock answered with a 7–0 run of his own, giving BYU its first lead with just 2:26 remaining.
The Cougars wouldn’t look back, winning 78–72 and completing the biggest comeback in NCAA tournament history.
Biggest Final Four Comebacks
The 2001 Final Four saw the largest comeback in history, where No. 1 Duke stormed back from a 22-point deficit against No. 3 Maryland.
Both of these teams were absolutely stacked. Duke had five future NBA players on the roster (Jay Williams, Shane Battier, Mike Dunleavy, Carlos Boozer and Chris Duhon) and Maryland would go on to win the national championship in 2002.
Maryland surged to a 39–17 lead in the first half and took a double-digit lead into halftime against the top team in the nation.
It wasn’t enough for the Terrapins.
Duke’s head coach, the legendary Mike Krzyzewski, stopped calling any plays. He told the team they knew how to play Duke basketball and let them go about it.
That’s precisely what the Blue Devils did, winning by 11 and moving on to the national championship game against Arizona.
Oddly enough, this wasn’t the only time that Duke pulled off a miraculous comeback against Maryland that season.
Maryland used a 20–4 run to take a 44–29 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the first half. Duke remained aggressive in the second half but still trailed by 10 points with 60 seconds remaining in College Park, Maryland.
What transpired is the stuff of legend.
Williams scored five points in about 10 seconds, cutting the lead to 90–85. After a pair of missed free throws from Maryland, Williams hit another three-pointer, cutting the deficit to just three points with 30 seconds remaining. Nate James would hit a pair of free throws to tie the game and Duke went on to win in overtime.
In Cameron, North Carolina they call it the “Miracle Minute.”
Biggest NCAA Championship Game Comebacks
No. 1 Kansas trailed No. 8 North Carolina by 16 points in the first half of the 2022 national championship game.
The Jayhawks were down 15 at the half, with UNC pounding the ball inside and leading in rebounding and second-chance points.
To battle back, Kansas would need to start playing much tougher defense. Head coach Bill Self challenged his team to do so, which is exactly what happened.
The Jayhawks held the Tar Heels to just 29 second-half points, clogging up passing lanes, forcing rushed shots and turnovers.
Just halfway through the second half Kansas had turned a 16-point deficit into a six-point lead. The Jayhawks never looked back, completing what fans call the “Great Kansas Comeback.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Biggest Comebacks in March Madness History.
